Eye sensors are safety devices that detect when your garage door makes contact with a person or object as it closes. When these obstructions occur, the sensors automatically command the door to lift away from the obstacle.
Garage door eye sensors perform an important job. If these devices fall out of alignment, they’ll be unable to instruct the door to rise away from obstructions, creating serious safety hazards. Luckily, you can realign your garage door sensors to restore functionality to your door.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how to align your garage door sensors.
How to Align Sensor Eyes on Your Garage Door
If your garage door sensors are out of alignment, that doesn’t mean your door is broken forever. Fixing this problem only requires a few simple steps:
- Gather your tools: Before getting to work, make sure you have the necessary tools on hand to get the job done. You’ll need a screwdriver, string and level.
- Close the door: Next, close your garage door to prevent it from raising and lowering as you investigate the problem.
- Check the sensor lights: Your garage door sensor eyes will be about 6 inches from the ground. If the LED lights on the sensors are flickering, that means they’re misaligned. If the lights are off completely, you may have an electrical problem rather than an alignment issue.
- Examine the sensors: Take a close look at your sensor eyes to determine if they’re obscured by dust, dirt, cobwebs or debris. If the sensors are dirty, you can clean them with a damp cloth, taking care not to scratch the lenses.
- Shut off the power: Once you’ve verified that your garage door sensors must be realigned, disconnect the power source from your garage door to ensure optimal safety.
- Loosen the screws: Use your screwdriver to loosen the wingnuts connecting the mounting brackets to the sensors. Be sure not to remove the screws completely.
- Level the sensors: Now that the screws are loose, you can level your sensors, positioning each eye about 6 inches off the ground. This ensures that the sensors will pick up on objects located above and below them.
- Align the sensors: Tie a string between the two sensor brackets and use your level to assess their alignment. If the sensors are not aligned, readjust them until they are properly positioned according to the level.
- Tighten the screws: Once your sensor eyes are aligned, you can retighten the screws with your screwdriver. Be careful not to accidentally push the sensors back out of alignment.
- Test the sensors: Finally, it’s time to turn the power back on and see if your sensors are back in working order.
Book Professional Garage Door Repairs From Banko Overhead Doors
While you can align your garage door sensors yourself, you should leave major repairs to the professionals at Banko Overhead Doors. Our team of highly trained technicians has the skills and experience needed to meet your garage door needs. With over 30 years of service, we’re the experts you can trust.
Schedule garage door repairs or contact us for more information today!
